Two men strike up an amazing chemistry, while playing God in “Victor Frankenstein”. Radical scientist Victor Frankenstein (McAvoy) and his equally brilliant protégé Igor Strausman (Radcliffe) meet on a fateful night, and find out they share a noble vision of aiding humanity through their groundbreaking research into immortality. But Victor’s experiments go too far, and his obsession has horrifying consequences. Only Igor can bring his friend back from the brink of madness and save him from his monstrous creation. “Victor Frankenstein” flashes moments of brilliance, but ultimately comes up a little short in it’s goal of creating a new spin on a classic tale. However, there is enough here to certainly warrant a viewing if you are a fan of either of the charmingly talented male leads. This film might not be the blockbuster that it’s 40 million dollar budget conjured up, but it’s a fun enough time if you want a movie experience that demands you to think less.

The biggest problem with it’s screenplay is that it searches for a fresh identity that simply isn’t there. Based on it’s 100 minute run time, the film can claim only about a half hour of content that isn’t in Mary Shelley’s novel, or borrowed from other big name franchises that we have already seen. What I mean by that is there were a lot of scenes in the first act of the film that visually and in tone resembled one of Robert Downey Jr’s “Sherlock Holmes” films. It’s not a major problem, as the opening 30 minutes are clearly the strongsuit of the film, because of a nice blend of twisted humor and catchy backstory that really give the viewer a lot of insight onto the characters of Igor and Victor. Seperately they are geniuses, but together they are unstoppable when it comes to helping humanity. Unfortunately, the script doesn’t hold onto it’s sense of humor, and a lot of the dreadfully monotonous second act falls under the spell of boredom, mostly jugging a slew of antagonists to oppose the doctors. The ending does kind of turn the movie around, but you have to wonder why writer Max Landis decided on waiting until the final fifteen minutes to unleash the legendary monster on us. It’s clearly a story that focuses more on it’s counterparts, but the monster content comes and goes without any big payoff to the script’s lead up to it.

If one thing is for certain about this film, it’s that Radcliffe and McAvoy are having the time of their lives in these roles. McAvoy instilled the thought process in me that I would love to see him star as a darker antagonist in more movies, because his range is simply intriguing. You see a lot in his portrayal that conjures up some ideas that maybe this character is on the brink of madness, and he is tired of being the town joke. McAvoy has so much charisma in every role he takes on, but it’s noticed and appreciated more in a film like this because there just isn’t enough things to brag about. Radcliffe continues to take on roles that are the complete opposite of what we see him in, but he won me over as Igor. One of the things that worried me about the trailers for this film was Igor being played without being a hunchback. Thankfully, this just isn’t true, and some of his best acting is when he dons the bodysuit. Some of the villains are a little cartoonish at times, especially when their evil sides come out of nowhere during a flawed second act. Honestly, i feel like this movie could’ve done without them, as Frankenstein is always kind of viewed as the villain for defying fate and science. Their presence doesn’t make the movie any more edgy, so they are kind of forgotten shortly after their final scenes.

“Victor Frankenstein” also has a lot of great set production and makeup work. There were some quick flashes of uninspiring CGI work, but thankfully these are sparse scenes. The real details come in these set pieces that really establish the look of 18th century England. Frankenstein’s lab alone tells the story of the years that he has put in to his profession, as the walls and tables are covered with gadgets and machines. The finale for the film is gorgeously set upon a rock castle just off the sea, with an open ceiling leaving the characters vulnerable to the lightning storm ahead. It makes for a visually stunning setting for the scene we are all waiting for; the birth of the monster.

Overall, “Victor Frankenstein” is leaps and bounds better than the mess of 2014’s “I Frankenstein”. While not as enticing and structurely sound as the 1931 original, this film at least attempts to tell it’s own story, while paying tribute to fans of Shelley’s novel. The film feels like it had an original premise, but not enough content to fill it’s run time, so they stuck with the structure of the original story. As many nice things as I have to say about it, the negatives are what weigh the film down from me recommending a theater viewing for this. A movie like this is perfect for home viewing, especially during those second act minutes that drown on and on. “Victor Frankenstein” is definitely alive, but it’s lifespan is very short when faced with the task of opening everyone else to a different view to a story they have known and loved for nearly 200 years.

5/10